102 HUMANE HORSE-TRAINING 



that no bit can hold him, and he is a confirmed 

 runaway. 



After a drive in the field I take the horse on the road 

 for a ten-mile trip, using an indiarubber bit and my 

 master rein, and also kind words, and now and then I 

 say " Whoa ! " and give a reminder at the same moment 

 with the master rein ; the mere thought of falling to 

 his knees causes him to stop at once. This gradually 

 impresses his brain, and he soon learns the meaning of 

 the word " whoa." Eventually the horse will always 

 stop at the command, and he has no desire to bolt. 



It requires patience and kindness to bring about the 

 cure, but the trouble is always rewarded. The horse 

 in the illustration, when the photograph was taken, 

 was a bad runaway. No bit could hold him, and 

 the word " whoa " was foreign to him. An accident 

 as a colt first caused the trouble. The groom did his 

 best afterwards to cure him, but he was certainly a 

 failure. The groom would show him motor-cars to get 

 him accustomed to them, and drive him in a strong 

 bit and a bearing-rein, but the horse used to go off 

 just when he wanted to, in saddle as well as in the 

 dogcart. 



To-day his mouth is light and perfect ; he does not 

 require the reins — they are only a matter of form with 



